


Essay Regarding the Over-Acting Of Jonathan Sims in 'The Weaver' by StarlightDreamer16

by WouldTheHill



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: but i'm in lockdown with nothing to do so, enjoy, hey so this was originally a joke, this is literally just an essay about someone else's fanfiction, two people asked for this and here it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23428690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WouldTheHill/pseuds/WouldTheHill
Summary: from my comment "presuming that jon is not afraid of spiders (because he talks to one here) and that he still crashed through the wall to let prentiss in (presumed since the attack happened in a similar fashion) that implies that jon pretended to be frightened by and attempted to "kill" a spider with such vigor/enthusiasm that he smashed through a wall and released jane and her worms. in this essay i will" i wrote this essay. Enjoy.You'll need to have read StarlightDreamer16's works 'The Weaver' and 'The Waiting' if you want this to make sense.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 27





	Essay Regarding the Over-Acting Of Jonathan Sims in 'The Weaver' by StarlightDreamer16

**Author's Note:**

  * For [StarlightDreamer16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightDreamer16/gifts).
  * Inspired by [The Waiting](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23375476) by [StarlightDreamer16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarlightDreamer16/pseuds/StarlightDreamer16). 



The Magnus Archives fan fiction 'The Waiting' by StarlightDreamer16 takes place in an alternate version of canon where Jon is shown to be not afraid of spiders, and is amicable towards them. This differs from the canon of The Magnus Archives where a childhood experience with spiders makes Jon react to them negatively and often violently. In the fan work, events follow a similar timeline to that of the original work, and as a result an event that is triggered by Jon’s fear of spiders still takes place at the same time. The build-up to the event is not shown in the fan work, leaving it up to extrapolation to define how the events of both works occur concurrently. It can be assumed that Jon, out of some obligation to pretend his fear of spiders is present, over-acted in such a way to trigger the event regardless of his amicable attitude towards spiders.

In the fan work, Jon is found to be calm in the presence of spiders, enough that when he was particularly distracted Martin noted that “If Jon noticed, he ignored [the spider moving down his arm]” (The Waiting, Chapter 2). The fan work does not mention any instance where Jon interacts with spiders outside of the tunnels under the Institute where his and Martin’s conversation takes place in chapter two. The tunnels being safe from the watchful Eyes of “Elias Bouchard” the Head of the Magnus Institute means that Jon can act however he wishes and not be Seen doing so. As such, it cannot be assumed that Jon would be able to act the same way towards spiders the Institute that he does under it. Just like he is only able to show his affection for Martin in the tunnels, it could be presumed that he is only able to show his affection for spiders in the tunnels. The presence of a spider in the Archives would merit a reaction of fear and disgust from Jon if he is to keep up with his pretence that he is not allied with the web at all. The reasons as to why the Eyes of “Elias Bouchard” are to be avoided are addressed in more detail in the author’s previous work, The Weaving, but centre around “the risk of Jonah Magnus Looking and Finding them together” (The Weaving). As a result, it can be inferred from the text that Jon, while he harbours to real dislike for spiders, must pretend he does when in the Sight of “Elias Bouchard”.

The event in question is the release of the entity known as Jane Prentiss and her hive of worms from the walls of the Magnus Institute into the Archives, which appears to occur simultaneously in both the original text and the fan work. In the original text, Jon is frightened by and as a result tries to kill a spider sitting on a bookshelf, only for the bookshelf to break through the plasterboard wall into a crawlspace where Jane Prentiss and the Hive have been living. This, heralded by “[WORM SOUND INTENSIFIES]” (The Magnus Archives, Episode 38: Lost and Found) marks the beginning of Jane Prentiss’ siege on the Magnus Institute. Jane Prentiss’ siege on the Institute happens in the same time period during the fan work, and while not explicitly stated there is evidence that points to a similar beginning for the siege, that being a bookshelf crashing through the wall of the Archives. The bookshelf breaking through the wall of the Archive is an essential part of the plot of both the original text and the fan work, as in both Tim is forced into the Archives where the break was made and is able to get to Jon and Martin through the tunnels in the walls. This essential plot point occurs in both the original text and the fan work as Martin and Jon need a way to escape the room they were trapped in. As a result, it can be said that the breaking of the wall is a necessary action for the plot to progress, and needs to happen in some way so that the tunnels can be open and the Hive can be released.

Jon has no motive to push the bookshelf over by himself, or break through the wall by any other means so it can be assumed there was a mitigating factor that led to the bookshelf being knocked over and the Hive released. In the original work, this is Jon’s automatic fear response to the spider on the bookshelf and instinctive desire to kill it. In the fan work, there would be no fear reaction or desire to kill the spider, but the need to act as though those feelings were present. The action taken to kill a spider is often forceful, as seen by the “[THUMP... THEN SOUND OF COLLAPSING SHELVES]” (The Magnus Archives, Episode 38: Lost and Found) that Jon initiates in the canon text. In the fan work, Jon would have to have acted towards or hit the shelves with such a force that he equalled the strength of someone acting on a purely instinctive fear response. Given the adrenaline that often accompanies fear, this would be quite a hard hit to the shelves. Given that none of the adrenaline is present in the fan work version of Jon without the fear of spiders present it could be seen as a great over-act or overreaction to hit the shelf with such force. Assuming that the great force was unintentional and that Jon did not want the shelf to fall over, he acted out his fear response to the spider with such passion and enthusiasm that he managed to know only match the strength of an adrenaline-fuelled fear response, but also to break a wall and release the Hive that was waiting within.

The original text and the fan work follow similar timelines and plots, and as a result it can be said that the knocking over of the shelf happened in both works, despite it not being shown in the fan work. The fan work proves that Jon is both calm in the presence of and amicable towards spiders, and it can be said that he has to pretend he is not those things outside the safety of the tunnels and within “Elias Bouchard’s” Sight. It can be inferred from the relation to the original text and the plot and context clues that in the fan work Jon over-acts a dislike for spiders with such vigour that he matches an adrenaline-fuelled fear response and releases the entity known as Jane Prentiss and her Hive from where they are waiting within the walls of the Magnus Institute.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd say I'm sorry but that would be a lie, i had fun writing this.


End file.
